T1 Diabetic, Humanist, sci-fi geek, space nerd; nemesis of mornings. Likes writing, photography, voiceover, retro games, electronic music, and Oxford commas; also endorses semicolons.
Career
In the past I have worked in arts marketing, as a voice-over/actor/narrator, stage actor, script writer, and an audio video editor for venues and production companies along the local town bus route. In an unexpected turn of events I left the creative industry and I am now approaching two decades in the security industry, working in Public Protection as CCTV Control Room Manager.
Writing
My writing influences are J Michael Straczynski, Douglas Adams, Bill Bryson, George Carlin, and Carl Sagan; funny, informative, and poignant in their own way. Before 2009 I had written nothing creatively, not since some plays at college in the 90’s. Then Type 1 diabetes came into my life and the written word became my therapy. I wrote about diabetes, my travels, bits of fiction, the odd dodgy poem, and the occasional diatribe; life, the universe… All archived here. I sometimes post themed Spotify playlists, to compensate for having nothing else to offer except for themed Spotify playlists…
Photography
Having worked and played behind a video camera for many years, I didn’t pick up a stills camera until the mid 2020’s. The day I bought a DSLR photography became one of my passions, both during the editing stages, playing with filters and styles, and ‘out in the wild’.
Voice Over
A lot of my coaching and voice over experience came from doing narration for media production companies that employed me during the early-mid 00’s. I’ve always been a fan of audio dramas and gravitated more toward how things sounded when I was a video editor – mixing 5.1 audio for in-house and Japanese DVD releases. Alas, I’m nowhere to be found (was not permitted by my employers) on IMDB.
Having decided to find a line of work with more stability when my current production company started culling staff, I found myself in the security industry where I voiced several characters in a CCTV promotional video. Shift work and a second job mean it’s not logistically possible to continue to do regular VO work, but never say never…
In 2020, being told to stay at home for what would be fifteen months I began to crave creativity; performance. Dusting off an Blue Yeti microphone for Teams meetings during ‘The Pandemic’, I rediscovered my VO voice. Mindful that the industry had moved on, I started doing online courses and bought all the ‘must have’ VO books. Four boxes of acoustic foam, a Focusrite Scarlet interface, Synco D2, and copy of Reaper later, I started noodling: writing and recording skits. It’s quite fun! Full-time employments still gets in the way.
The Rest of Me
In music I have eclectic taste, but gravitate towards electric. From Holst’s Planets to Pink Floyd to Pet Shop Boys, music is my constant companion; it’s a time, a place; a memory.
I like my sci-fi shows set in space; ‘Babylon 5’ and ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ are my all-time favourites. Time travel episodes are my least favourite, and shows that start dramatically before cutting to ‘hrs earlier’. My favourite detectives are Sherlock Holmes (Brett), Hercule Poirot (Suchet), and Columbo. I hate Jane Austin-type period dramas; anything revolving around the British class system. I also enjoy Spaghetti Westerns and Film Noir. I’m a sucker for monologues. I despise lens flair and orange and teal colour grading.
I grew up reading Asterix, Beano, and Dandy comics. I’m also a 90’s-00’s DC Comics fan – Batman and other Gotham titles. Cartoons I feasted on as kid were Loony Tunes, He-Man, Transformers, Thundercats, and M.A.S.K. with lashings of Danger Mouse and sprinkes of Count Duckula. ‘Batman the Animated Series’ sits at the very top of the mountain.
I love tinkering with retro gaming emulators and frontends. I still play childood favourites like ‘Lotus Turbo Challenge’ and ‘F1 ’97’. I love driving and racing games and have used racing wheels since the 90’s. My all-time favourite non-driving game is ‘Wing Commander’. There should also be rehab centres for ‘Cities Skylines’ addicts.
I seldom read the press or watch the news, opinions, and reviews. I avoid talk of politics and religion but am fully aware and feel angry over the tyrannies of the world. I hate adverts that change popular song lyrics; I hate lazy uninspired writing – old tropes and tired clichés. Make it dark, make it edgy, make it brooding, but for fuck’s sake tell some jokes!
Indycar over F1, AEW over WWE, Android over Apple, PC over Console, Nikon over Canon, Jim Beam over Jack Daniels, coffee over Red Bull. Love over hate.
“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see”. – Edgar Allan Poe
Creative content is never always a true representation of an individual’s worldview. This website exists for the sole purpose of satisfying my own creative indulgences. Treat what you see, read, or hear as entertainment. I am an authority on nothing; I am a mouthpiece for no one. What I am, is for diversity!
If you like something on this site so much that it compels you to tell me about it, please feel free via email. If you dislike something so much that you feel you must project negative energy toward me, read the last paragraph again.
Thank you for reading.